Fashion for Good showcases biomaterials in latest exhibition

The Fashion for Good Museum in Amsterdam has launched a new year-long exhibition shining a spotlight on biomaterials.

The Grow Expo showcases a selection of innovations, designers and brands that are reimaging the materials used in the notoriously polluting fashion industry, from fruit skin fabric and mushroom ‘leather’ to spider-silk and algae dye.

As well as seeing the materials up close - either by in-person appointment or virtually - visitors will learn about the fast-growing movement of biomaterials in fashion, which companies from high street retailers to storied luxury houses have been keen to get in on in recent years.

This includes information about what exactly biomaterials are, why they’re so important, how sustainable they are, and what makes them different from traditional fibres like cotton and hemp. Visitors can also buy products at the exhibition.

The brands

So which brands are at the exhibition? Swiss label Qwstion is showcasing its bags made from Bananatex, a material made from banana plants cultivated in the Philippine highlands within a natural ecosystem requiring no pesticides, fertilizer or extra water.

Pangaia, a materials science company, is available for the first time in a retail store in the Netherlands at the Fashion for Good Museum, marking its second physical point of sales in Europe. The brand’s innovations include fibre made from seaweed and an antibacterial textile finishing treatment made with peppermint oil.

Another brand available in the Netherlands for the first time at the exhibition is bag manufacturer Freitag which is showcasing F-ABRIC, its sustainable, transparent and fully compostable clothing line. The materials in the line are made of the bast fibres hemp and flax, as well as modal which is made from beechwood.

Other brands at the exhibition include The Nude Label, which is showcasing its gender-neutral underwear fashion made from organic cotton; Phool, which makes charcoal-free incense and biodegradable packaging from floral waste from temples and mosques in India; and BioGlitz, which produces what it describes as the world’s first biodegradable glitter.

The innovators

Joining the line-up of brands is also a number of innovators. They include Algaeing, a company using algae and cellulose to create 100 percent biodegradable fibres and dyes; Bolt Threads, the material solutions company behind mycelium based leather alternative Mylo; and Colorifix, a dyeing company using a biological process to produce, transfer and fix pigments onto textiles.

Other innovators at the exhibition include Ecovative, Galy, Infinited Fiber Company, Orange Fiber, Reuben Selby, Spiber x Goldwin, and Spinnova. More information on the exhibition and all companies involved is available on the Fashion for Good website.

Images courtesy of Alina Krasieva